St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-23
A CAUCASIAN SLAVE.
Adventures of German in South
America.

San Francisco Chronicle.
Among the passengers who arrived by
the steamer San Jose last week from
Guatemala was former resident of this
city who during the past year has had
varied and trying experience in South
America.
Joseph Rumbach is German of about
thirty years of age. He is gardener by
trade and has worked for some of the
best people in this city. About ten
months ago he sailed from this city for
Callao, in Peru, thinking to better his
fortune. Like many others he had an
| idea that silver and gold were plentiful
| in South America, and that any intelfi-
! gent foreigner could make money faster
there than in this country.
| A few days in CallaO and Lima, how
ever, soon disabused his mind of this
idea, and he was glad to accept place
as gardener on the hacienda of a MIR.
| OrbegoSa, seven days ride on muleback
| into the interior OF the country over the
| COrdillera mountains. According to his
| letter of instructions, which he has with
| him, he was to receive $40 a month in
silver, house in the yard of the haci-
enda house, bed and bedding and his
meals. HIS duties were to look after
and improve the flower and vegetable
| SdIucIlS W tliG uOUSc.
| When he arrived at the hacienda he
found that it was barren coffee plan
tation, and that he was expected to
work with the Indian laborers in the
coffee fields. His house consisted of an
adobe hut of one room, with no win
dowS, and nothing but cot mattress
and pair of blankets in the way of
furniture. He stuck to his work for
about four weeks, hoping his posi-
ton might be improved, but, find
ing no likelihood of change,
he resolved to throw up the situation
and try to better himself. He went to
the administrator or manager and told
| him that he wished to leave. To his
| surprise he found that he would not be
allowed to do so, but that he must re-
main and work, whether he liked it on
not. This was on Wednesday. The
next morning he packed his clothing in
a bag. strung it across his shoulders
and started to retrace on foot the
weary journey across the mountains
to the coast. On the evening of the secr;
ond day, while sitting in the house of
an Indian in village, there came
knock at the door. 1t was thrown open,
and in rushed the administrator of the
hacienda with seven men, all armed
with rifles, at his back. Rumbach Was
seized and taken to the Jail, where he
spent the next twenty-fOur hours
The Jail was close, hot place, WITH
out windows or any other means
of ventilation. On the following
day he was taken back to the hacienda
and forced to go to work again. He was
told that he could not get away, and was
urged to marry an Indian girl and settle
down contentedly to work. .,.,r..
| About three weeks after his return he
again told the administrator that he
wished to leave, and was again refused.
| That night Spaniard, who was also
labOrer on the plantation, came to him
and warned him that if he did not COM
| ply with the wishes of the administrator
he would be put i'll chains and worked
like the Indians. Rumbach states that
the administrator and his chief assist
ants were absolute masters of all the
men on the plantation. They tried them
for any infractiOnS of the rules, and
| sentenced them to the chain-gang under
boss, who drove them at their wOrkwith
a whip, which he did not Scruple to use
on the slightest prOyOcatiOn. For more
serious offenses both Imprisonment and
whipping were the puniShmentS.
Not relishing the outlook, Rumbach
resolved to make another attempt to eS-
cape from slavery. At 2 O'Clock the
next morning he climbed over. the wall
| vi Iiic pdllo, anu AGAIN olal tCu vi d
| tramp to the coast. For six days and
nights he tramped over the mountains,
carefully avoiding the only beaten road,
for he was warned by some friendly In
dams the first day of his journey that he
was being pursued. He lived ON such
fruits and berries as he could pick, and
upon the occasional gifts of the Indians,
who guided and assisted him in his
flight. On the seventh day he reached
the coast and made his way to Callao,
and from there to Lima.
He went to the German minister and
told his story. The minister told him he
could do nothing for him, and advised
him to go back to work. This Rumbach
declined to do, but sought work in
Lima. He finally secured a place under
the municipal government in the public
gardens at 81 day, out of which he had
to pay for rooms and meals. In two
months he had managed to save enough
to pay for passage by steamer to
Panama, where he worked for six
weeks and then sailed for Honduras.
labor on coffee plantation, gave him
the funds to pay his way to San Jose de
Guatemala, where he secured work in
the gardens of the late President Bar
rios, and, after that job was completed,
on coffee plantation owned by Swiss
gentleman. In three months he had
enough to bring him back to San Fran,
cisco, where he arrived a few days ago,
heartily sick of Spanish countries andi
glad to get back to land where for,
eigner has some rights which the natives
respect.
Peru, he says, is about the worst place
in the world for foreigner. He met,
there many Americans, Germans, Frenchj
and English, who were striving to get
away. Many of them were actually in a,
state of starvation. Since the war with
Chill money has been scarce. All the
work not done by the Indians is in the
hands of the Chinese and Italians, who:
can live on wages which would simply
mean slow starvation to any one else.
Rumbach says that there are actually
more Chinese in Lima than native Peru
vians. Nearly all the business is done
by them, and many of them are married
to white girls. The Chinese keep the
stores, and charge eXOrbitant prices
for everything, as the paper currency
of the country is worth only IL cents on
the dollar, and prices are made in ac-
cordance with the value Of the circulat-
ing medium, only in an inverse ratio.
His advice to any man who has work of
any kind III America is not to go to Peru
/ with the idea that he can better his po-
Sition by doing SO. In other Central
and South American states the condi-
ton of things is not so bad, but no one
without capital has fair chance to